Chapter 14

Serena

Heather banged on my door, shouting frantically.

”Prisoners are escaping. There are fights everywhere.”

I flung open the door. As soon as I did, the sounds of shouting and fighting drifted in. It sounded like it was far away, but if a prison riot was happening, I knew nowhere was safe. Heather looked panicked. I pushed down my fear for a moment. I couldn”t let her become immobilized by an anxiety attack.

”Okay. Get yourself out of the nearest exit. Now.”

”The others?”

”We”ve got no idea where they all are. Don”t get yourself killed on a wild goose chase.”

”My mate.”

Her voice came out in a strangled panic. I stared at her for a moment. She hadn”t mentioned finding her mate. I didn”t know who she meant. One of the prisoners? There was no time to ask.

”If I know one thing about mates, it”s that he will find you and keep you safe. That will be his only priority right now. Get out and he will track you down. I promise. Go and head for the lake.”

She nodded, trying to take deep breaths.

”What about you? Are you coming?”

”I”ll be right behind you. I”m going to leave a note in case anyone comes here, letting them know where to find us.”

As she said that, Billy appeared at my door.

”Are you okay?” he asked.

”Yes. I”m okay.”

I waved Heather away, and she took off running. I scribbled down a note and stuck it to my door before reaching to grab a shawl. Billy interrupted my move as he placed his hand on my waist.

”It”s okay, Serena. The gates to this part of the building are all down and secure.”

”Oh, you should have said. I”ve sent Heather running off now. Will they hold?”

I could hear the sounds of fighting getting closer.

”I”m sure they will hold.”

He pulled the door closed to my room and pulled the metal emergency bars across. The energy shifted in the room and my heart sank. He turned to me, and something in his eyes looked dark and threatening.

”You don”t need to worry about being mated to a monster now, Serena. I”m here. We can leave together once this is over. Daylen has promised me he will stop anyone from getting over to this section of the prison. He”s working the gate controls.”

He stepped towards me and reached a hand out to my face.

”I”m not worried about it. I”m glad to have found my mate, and I”m glad he is an orc.”

Billy”s eyes flashed and his body language shifted, and I knew instinctively I was in danger.

”The orc? It”s not right, Serena! Monsters taking human women. I can take care of you. Properly. Like you deserve.”

I could see the anger building inside him. I knew that his idea of taking care of me actually had nothing to do with caring. It was about possession. On some level he”d convinced himself that his wants mattered more than my needs. His hands tensed. Zesh was right, Billy was my enemy. I just hadn”t wanted to see it. I”d fallen for his lost boy routine and if I wasn”t careful he was going to snap. He was between me and the door. I kept eye contact with him and held my hands up. I knew my room like the back of my hand. A pan for boiling water to make tea was on the table next to me. He stepped forward, and I darted sideways. I grabbed the pan and without thinking, swung it at him. A clang rang out as I caught him across the face. He stumbled back and glared at me.

”You can”t hit me. You should be mine!”

He jumped up again and reached for me. Panic threatened to overtake me, but I knew I couldn”t let him get a hold of me. I swung the pot again down on top of his head. The adrenaline of the moment coursed through me. The rush flowed through me, and all my senses felt more powerful and intense. Billy fell to the ground in a heap just as the door to my room was ripped off its hinges and flung to one side.

”Uk”lah!”

Orzesh took in the scene.

”You are vanquishing your foe!”

I laughed wildly, high on my body”s chemicals.

Orzesh roared a triumphant roar. Billy was pulling himself across the floor away from us both, looking dazed. My body was buzzing with energy, and I felt more alive and in the moment than I”d even thought possible.

”Now, your turn to fight,” I shouted, and leapt towards Zesh, shouting incoherent noises.

His eyes widened, and as I hit him with my full body he actually stumbled backwards, taken by surprise. I swung the pan, caught up in the moment. Heather had told me that the mating fight was a proper fight and I shouldn”t hold back. While it didn”t actually matter who won, the ritual of it was important. I had to take it seriously. Taking Zesh by surprise was my best chance of getting any hits in. But once I heard the vibration of the hit, I felt bad. It didn”t last long as Orzesh laughed with glee and picked me up, held me over his head and threw me across the room onto my bed, like I weighed nothing. I bounced and nearly fell off the end, dropping the pan. That was my only weapon. I didn”t even have time to think of grabbing it again before there was a huge orc leaping on top of me. I squealed with shock and a little thrill of fear. His eyes were turning red now. Heather had let me know it could be a sign of desire, not just rage. But as they glowed at me, it was easy to feel intimidated.

I decided that there was only one option, to fight with what the gods gave me. Growling like a wild animal, I scratched my nails down his chest. I thought I sounded quite ferocious.

”Such delicate little claws you have there, Uk”lah. Shame they haven”t done any damage.”

I reached for his chest where there were still the remnants of a purple bruise, and dug my nails in as hard as I could. The growl that erupted from him made the room shake. A few drops of blood leaked from him. He looked down at it and laughed. A squeal in the background distracted us for a moment. Billy had tried to pick up Orzesh”s axe but couldn”t even get it off the ground. Now Bloodletter was pecking him angrily.

”Serena!”

”Oh, fuck off, Billy.”

Bloodletter cried out and pecked Billy”s face until he turned and ran.

”Do you want to follow and kill him, Uk”lah?”

”Absolutely not. This fight is more important.”

”Agreed. We can kill him later.”

I ignored that and slapped him across the face. He probably would barely even feel it, but I knew it would surprise him. His eyes widened, and he flipped me over so I was on my front. One hand pressed on my back to hold me in place. I wiggled and complained. His hand came down on my ass with a crack. I squealed more in shock than anything else, but I could feel the need for him building in me. He flipped me over onto my back, and with one pull ripped my red dress off me. He pinned my wrists to the bed and looked me up and down.

”Do you concede, Uk”lah?”

”No.”

I gave him a wicked grin and tried my best to kick at him as he pulled at my underwear. In the distance I was aware of the noises of chaos getting closer. But I didn”t care. With Orzesh here I would always be safe, whatever the situation. I failed to stop him from ripping my underwear to shreds. He held my wrists with one large hand while the other pulled his own furs off. He left his sash on. My eyes wandered over the green body rippling with muscle down to the large green cock standing up between solid thighs. I kicked again. He used his free hand to slap my clitoris. I squealed. Wetness flooded out of me. I had never been so excited or turned on. It felt like I was a phoenix caught in a hurricane, ready to combust. But I wasn”t ready to admit defeat. I wiggled helplessly trying to escape his grasp. I couldn”t move his hand even a little. He positioned himself between my legs, and seeing his cock right next to my opening really put the size of it into perspective. My stomach flipped as he pressed it against me.

”You are so wet, and all for me.”

His voice was deep and full of need. I was aching for him badly now. But I couldn”t make sense of how he could possibly fit inside me. I didn”t have time to worry about it for long as he thrust the tip inside me. Pleasure and pain shot through me as I stretched to accommodate him. He was taking me to my limits, and I loved that. I moaned, and he pushed in further. My body struggled to accommodate him, but gave in more and more as he thrust more and more of himself inside me. The thickness of his cock increased towards the base, and I could feel the soft barbs running up and down inside me, tormenting my G-spot.

”Do you concede, Uk”lah?”

His voice was thick now. Like talking was difficult for him. I looked deep into his red eyes.

”No.”

He groaned and slammed the rest of the way into me. I screamed as sensations overwhelmed me. I felt so full and like I might break. He pulled out and began thrusting all of himself into me, groaning my name, his pelvis grinding against my clit. The noise of him in the throes of passion was intoxicating. His voice, his smell, the feel of his body. Nothing else existed in this moment.

I made a half-hearted attempt to escape his grasp again, but he just tightened his grip on my wrists. It made my moans turn to loud cries. He thrust harder and harder. I tried to wrap my legs around him and pull at him with each thrust. My legs didn”t go all the way round him, but he took little convincing to speed up, faster and faster until I tumbled over the edge into a screaming orgasm. He cried out at my screams and juddered as he followed up my orgasm with his own. I felt him filling me up as he cried my name. More waves of pleasure cascaded over me, and even when he stopped moving it took a few minutes for my walls to stop convulsing around him. When my eyes opened again, I saw the forest green back in his as he watched me.

”Do you concede?”

I laughed, and a little snort escaped.

”I concede. For now.”

He planted a remarkably gentle kiss on my lips.

”We must go now, Uk”lah. Can you stand?”

I was pretty sure I could stand, but I might walk like a cowboy who’d lost his horse for a while.

”Yes, Uk”lah.”

His face lit up at the term. He stood and pulled me to my feet. I quickly cleaned myself up and pulled on a fresh dress.

”Do I have time to pack some things?”

I looked around at the little remnants of my life. I knew that once we stepped out of here, we wouldn”t be coming back.

”Yes. I will kill anyone who tries to interrupt you.”

I wasn”t sure that it was worth killing people for material items, so I quickly grabbed my favorite blanket from my bed and my letters from my family. That would have to do. I nodded to him. He picked up his axe, and Bloodletter landed on my shoulder. It was time to say goodbye to this life and hello to whatever lay in front of us. Whatever adventures came, I knew that we”d enjoy them together.